Bonded processed semiconductor structures and carriers

ABSTRACT

Methods of fabricating semiconductor structures include implanting atom species into a carrier die or wafer to form a weakened region within the carrier die or wafer, and bonding the carrier die or wafer to a semiconductor structure. The semiconductor structure may be processed while using the carrier die or wafer to handle the semiconductor structure. The semiconductor structure may be bonded to another semiconductor structure, and the carrier die or wafer may be divided along the weakened region therein. Bonded semiconductor structures are fabricated using such methods.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/900,157, filed May 22, 2013, which application is a divisional ofU.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/839,203, filed Jul. 19, 2010, nowU.S. Pat. No. 8,461,017, issued Jun. 11, 2013, the disclosure of each ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by this reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention generally relates to temporary semiconductor dieand/or wafer bonding methods useful in forming three-dimensionalsemiconductor structures, to intermediate structures formed using thetemporary semiconductor die and/or wafer bonding methods, and tosemiconductor dice and/or wafers including an ion implanted zone for usein temporary semiconductor wafer bonding methods.

BACKGROUND

The three-dimensional (3D) integration of two or more semiconductorstructures can produce a number of benefits to microelectronicapplications. For example, 3D integration of microelectronic componentscan result in improved electrical performance and power consumptionwhile reducing the area of the device footprint. See, for example, P.Garrou, et al. “The Handbook of 3D Integration,” Wiley-VCH (2008).

The 3D integration of semiconductor structures may take place by theattachment of a semiconductor die to one or more additionalsemiconductor dies (i.e., die-to-die (D2D)), a semiconductor die to oneor more semiconductor wafers (i.e., die-to-wafer (D2W)), as well as asemiconductor wafer to one or more additional semiconductor wafers(i.e., wafer-to-wafer (W2W)), or a combination thereof.

Several process sequences have been developed to facilitate theformation of 3D integrated semiconductor structures, including, forexample, electrical connection between individual semiconductorstructures, thinning of one or more of the semiconductor structures andalignment and bonding of individual semiconductor structures, etc. Inparticular, thinning of the one or more semiconductor structurescomprising the 3D integrated semiconductor structure may be employed fora number of reasons, including, for example, improved heat dissipationand reduction of electrical resistance. However, the benefits that maybe produced by thinning of the one or more semiconductor structurescomprising the 3D integrated semiconductor structure may also introduceprocess complications, for example, a semiconductor structure may becomerelatively brittle due to a thinning process and may, thus, besusceptible to cracking, fracture or other damage during processingusing existing equipment and materials.

One proposed solution to this problem is to bind the semiconductorstructure, e.g., such as a semiconductor wafer, to a reinforcingsubstrate, such as another wafer (e.g., a carrier wafer) to providemechanical strength during processing (e.g., thinning) of thesemiconductor wafer. The process of bonding the semiconductor wafer tothe reinforcing substrate is often referred to as “wafer bonding.” Afterprocessing the semiconductor wafer, the reinforcing substrate may bereleased from the semiconductor.

For example, a semiconductor wafer may be temporarily bonded to areinforcing substrate using an adhesive material. The adhesive materialbears the force associated with holding the semiconductor wafer and thereinforcing substrate together during processing of the semiconductorwafer. Furthermore, the adhesive material and the reinforcing substratemay function as a mechanical support to provide structural stability tothe semiconductor wafer during processing of the semiconductor wafer.Many spin-coated amorphous polymers, such as polyimides,benzocyclobutene (BCB), NAFION® and photoresist materials have been usedas adhesive materials for wafer bonding.

Adhesive materials may be unstable at increased temperatures, however,which may limit the temperatures at which semiconductor devicefabrication may be conducted. Furthermore, solvent or solvent vapors maybe released from such adhesive materials at elevated temperatures. Thisprocess is often referred to as “outgassing.” Outgassing may result inthe formation of bubbles or voids in the adhesive material. Such bubblesor voids may result in non-uniform bonding strength between thesemiconductor wafer and the reinforcing substrate, and may compromisethe integrity of the bond. The adhesive material is completely removedafter semiconductor wafer processing using a chemical removal process(e.g., dissolving in a solvent). The chemical removal process may betime-consuming and damaging to semiconductor devices and integratedcircuit devices formed on the semiconductor wafer. Thus, adhesivebonding may be problematic when used in temporarily bonding asemiconductor wafer to a reinforcing substrate.

Another method of providing support for a semiconductor wafer duringprocessing involves directly bonding two semiconductor substrates usinga so called “direct” wafer bonding process. Direct wafer bondingprocesses are conventionally used in forming semiconductor-on-insulator(SeOI) structures (e.g., silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structures) that areof interest for fabrication of advanced ICs for three-dimensional (3D)device integration. In a conventional direct wafer bonding process asurface oxide layer may be formed over at least one of the wafers. Thesurface oxide layer may then be bonded to a silicon material or anotheroxide material on a surface of the other wafer. For example, a surfaceof an oxide material on a semiconductor wafer may be contacted with asurface of a reinforcing substrate and the two structures may be bondedtogether via atomic and/or molecular adhesion. To achieve a bond betweentwo semiconductor wafers, the semiconductor wafers should have lowsurface roughness compatible surface chemistries (i.e., hydrophilicityand hydrophobicity), and should be at least substantially free of dustand other debris.

BRIEF SUMMARY

In some embodiments, the present disclosure includes methods offabricating semiconductor structures. A first semiconductor structure isformed that includes at least a portion of an integrated circuit on afirst substrate. Ions are implanted into a carrier wafer to form aweakened region within the carrier wafer. The carrier wafer is directlybonded to a first side of the first semiconductor structure. The firstsemiconductor structure is processed while the carrier wafer is attachedto the first semiconductor, and the carrier wafer is used to handle thefirst semiconductor structure. A second semiconductor structure thatincludes at least a portion of an integrated circuit is directly bondedto a second side of the first semiconductor structure opposite the firstside of the semiconductor structure to which the carrier wafer isdirectly bonded. A layer of material from the carrier wafer is separatedfrom a remaining portion of the carrier wafer along the weakened regiontherein.

The present invention also includes additional embodiments of methods offabricating semiconductor structures. Ions are implanted into a firstsemiconductor structure to form a weakened region therein, and a surfaceof the first semiconductor structure is directly bonded to a surface ofa second semiconductor structure to form a bonded semiconductorstructure that includes the first semiconductor structure and the secondsemiconductor structure. The bonded semiconductor structure is handledusing the first semiconductor structure while removing a portion of thesecond semiconductor structure and exposing at least one conductivestructure extending at least partially through the second semiconductorstructure. The at least one conductive structure exposed through thesecond semiconductor structure is aligned with at least one conductivestructure of a third semiconductor structure. The bonded semiconductorstructure and the third semiconductor structure are heated, and the atleast one conductive structure exposed through the second semiconductorstructure is directly bonded to the at least one conductive structure ofthe third semiconductor structure in response to heating the bondedsemiconductor structure and the third semiconductor structure. The firstsemiconductor structure also may be divided along the weakened region inresponse to heating the bonded semiconductor structure and the thirdsemiconductor structure and leaving a portion of the first semiconductorstructure on the second semiconductor structure.

Additional embodiments of the invention include bonded semiconductorstructures formed during methods of fabricating semiconductor structuresas described herein. For example, a bonded semiconductor structure mayinclude a plurality of bonded processed semiconductor structures, and acarrier die or wafer bonded to at least one processed semiconductorstructure of the plurality of bonded processed semiconductor structures.The carrier die or wafer may have a weakened zone comprising a pluralityof implanted ions therein at an average depth of between 10 nm and 1000nm from a surface of the carrier die or wafer bonded to the at least oneprocessed semiconductor structure of the plurality of bonded processedsemiconductor structures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing outand distinctly claiming what are regarded as embodiments of theinvention, the advantages of embodiments of the invention may be morereadily ascertained from the description of certain examples ofembodiments of the invention when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a processed semiconductorstructure that includes through wafer interconnects;

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a bonded semiconductorstructure that includes the processed semiconductor structure of FIG. 1directly bonded to another semiconductor structure comprising a carrierwafer in accordance with embodiments of methods of the invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the carrier wafer shown inFIG. 2 before bonding to the processed semiconductor structure;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the bonded semiconductorstructure of FIG. 2 after thinning the processed semiconductor structurewhile using the carrier wafer to handle the processed semiconductorstructure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the bonded semiconductorstructure shown in FIG. 4 inverted and aligned with another processedsemiconductor structure to which the bonded semiconductor structure maybe attached in accordance with embodiments of methods of the invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a bonded semiconductorstructure that may be formed by bonding together the alignedsemiconductor structures shown in FIG. 5, and further illustratesdivision of the carrier wafer after bonding the semiconductor structurestogether;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a three-dimensionalsemiconductor structure that may be formed in accordance withembodiments of methods of the invention; and

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a semiconductor structureand is used to illustrate embodiments of methods of the invention thatinclude bonding of individual semiconductor dice onto a relativelylarger semiconductor wafer in a three-dimensional (3D) integrationprocess.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following description provides specific details, such as materialtypes and processing conditions, in order to provide a thoroughdescription of embodiments of the present disclosure and implementationthereof. However, a person of ordinary skill in the art will understandthat the embodiments of the present disclosure may be practiced withoutemploying these specific details and in conjunction with conventionalfabrication techniques. In addition, the description provided hereindoes not form a complete process flow for manufacturing a semiconductordevice or system. Only those process acts and structures necessary tounderstand the embodiments of the present invention are described indetail herein. The materials described herein may be formed (e.g.,deposited or grown) by any suitable technique including, but not limitedto, spin coating, blanket coating, Bridgman and Czochralski processes,chemical vapor deposition (“CVD”), plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (“PECVD”), atomic layer deposition (“ALD”), plasma enhancedALD, or physical vapor deposition (“PVD”). While the materials describedand illustrated herein may be formed as layers, the materials are notlimited to layers and may be formed in other three-dimensionalconfigurations.

The terms “horizontal” and “vertical,” as used herein, define relativepositions of elements or structures with respect to a major plane orsurface of a wafer or substrate, regardless of the orientation of thewafer or substrate, and are orthogonal dimensions interpreted withrespect to the orientation of the structure being described, asillustrated in the drawing being referred to when the structure is beingdescribed. As used herein, the team “vertical” means and includes adimension substantially perpendicular to the major surface of asubstrate or wafer as illustrated, and the term “horizontal” means adimension substantially parallel to the major surface of the substrateor wafer as illustrated and extending between left and right sides ofthe drawing. Prepositions, such as “on,” “over,” “above” and “under,” asused herein, are relative terms corresponding to the vertical directionwith respect to the structure being described.

As used herein, the term “semiconductor structure” means and includesany structure that is used in the formation of a semiconductor device.Semiconductor structures include, for example, dies and wafers (e.g.,carrier substrates and device substrates), as well as assemblies orcomposite structures that include two or more dies and/or wafersthree-dimensionally integrated with one another. Semiconductorstructures also include fully fabricated semiconductor devices, as wellas intermediate structures formed during fabrication of semiconductordevices. Semiconductor structures may comprise conductive,semiconductive materials, and/or non-conductive materials.

As used herein, the term “processed semiconductor structure” means andincludes any semiconductor structure that includes one or more at leastpartially formed device structures. Processed semiconductor structuresare a subset of semiconductor structures, and all processedsemiconductor structures are semiconductor structures.

As used herein, the term “bonded semiconductor structure” means andincludes any structure that includes two or more semiconductorstructures that are attached together. Bonded semiconductor structuresare a subset of semiconductor structures, and all bonded semiconductorstructures are semiconductor structures. Furthermore, bondedsemiconductor structures that include one or more processedsemiconductor structures are also processed semiconductor structures.

As used herein, the term “device structure” means and includes anyportion of a processed semiconductor structure that is, includes, ordefines at least a portion of an active or passive component of asemiconductor device to be formed on or in the semiconductor structure.For example, device structures include active and passive components ofintegrated circuits such as, for example, transistors, transducers,capacitors, resistors, conductive lines, conductive vias, and conductivecontact pads.

As used herein, the term “through wafer interconnect” or “TWI” means andincludes any conductive via extending through at least a portion of afirst semiconductor structure that is used to provide a structuraland/or an electrical interconnection between the first semiconductorstructure and a second semiconductor structure across an interfacebetween the first semiconductor structure and the second semiconductorstructure. Through wafer interconnects are also referred to in the artby other terms such as “through silicon vias” or “through substratevias” (TSVs) and “through wafer vias” or “TWVs.” TWIs typically extendthrough a semiconductor structure in a direction generally perpendicularto the generally flat, major surfaces of the semiconductor structure(i.e., in a direction parallel to the “Z” axis).

As used herein, the term “active surface,” when used in relation to aprocessed semiconductor structure, means and includes an exposed majorsurface of the processed semiconductor structure that has been, or willbe, processed to form one or more device structures in and/or on theexposed major surface of the processed semiconductor structure.

As used herein, the term “back surface,” when used in relation to aprocessed semiconductor structure, means and includes an exposed majorsurface of the processed semiconductor structure on an opposing side ofthe processed semiconductor structure from an active surface of thesemiconductor structure.

As used herein, the term “III-V type semiconductor material” means andincludes any material predominantly comprised of one or more elementsfrom group IIIA of the periodic table (B, Al, Ga, In, and Ti) and one ormore elements from group VA of the periodic table (N, P, As, Sb, andBi).

Referring to FIG. 1, a processed semiconductor structure 100 is shownthat includes a device region 102 that may extend into substrate 106 andon and/or over a surface of a substrate 106. The processed semiconductorstructure 100 includes an active surface 104 and an opposite backsurface 108. The active surface 104 comprises an exposed major surfaceof the device region 102 of the processed semiconductor structure 100,while the back surface 108 comprises an exposed major surface of thesubstrate 106. The substrate 106 may comprise, for example, asemiconductor material such as silicon (Si), germanium (Ge), a III-Vsemiconductor material, etc. Furthermore, the substrate 106 may comprisea single crystal of semiconductor material, or one or more epitaxiallayers of semiconductor material upon a base substrate. In additionalembodiments, the substrate 106 may comprise one or more dielectricmaterials such as an oxide (e.g., silicon dioxide (SiO₂) or aluminumoxide (Al₂O₃)), a nitride (e.g., silicon nitride (Si₃N₄), boron nitride(BN) or aluminum Nitride (AlN)), etc.

The substrate 106 may be selected to have desirable properties for usein a direct wafer bonding process, as will be described in furtherdetail. For example, the substrate 106 may include a silicon waferhaving a low bow, warp and total thickness variation (TTV). As usedherein, the term “bow” means and includes a measure of concavity,curvature or deformation of a median surface of a semiconductorsubstrate at a centerline independent of any thickness variations. Asused herein, the term “warp” means and includes a difference between amaximum deviation and a minimum deviation of the median surface relativeto a backside reference plane of a semiconductor substrate. As usedherein, the terms “total thickness variation” and “TTV” each mean andinclude a maximum variation in thickness of a semiconductor substrateand is generally defined as a difference between a minimum thickness andmaximum thickness measured on the semiconductor substrate. For example,the total thickness variation of a semiconductor substrate may bedetermined by measuring the semiconductor substrate in five (5) or morelocations in a cross pattern on the semiconductor substrate andcalculating a maximum measured difference in thickness.

Semiconductor substrates with high warp, bow and total thicknessvariation may be undesirable for use in direct wafer bonding processesfor several reasons. For example, during direct wafer bonding processes,high warp, bow and total thickness variation levels may result in unevencontact between the semiconductor substrates being bonded. Such unevencontact may result in thermal variations and disruptions in molecularadhesion during the direct wafer bonding process. Furthermore, high warpand bow values may increase the risk of the semiconductor substratecracking during the device fabrication due to stresses induced as thewafer is adhered to a vacuum chuck. Accordingly, a silicon wafer havinga low warp, bow and total thickness variation may be used as thesubstrate 106 to provide sufficient uniformity and flatness for thewafer bonding process. As a non-limiting example, the substrate 106 maybe a high quality silicon wafer having a warp of less than about thirtymicrometers (30 μm), a bow of less than about ten micrometers (10 μm)and a total thickness variation of less than about one micrometer (1μm).

The device region 102 may include, for example, one or more devicestructures 110, which may include conductive and/or semiconductiveelements embedded in dielectric material 114. The device structures 110may include metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors, bipolartransistors, field effect transistors (FETs), diodes, resistors,thyristors, rectifiers, and the like. The device structures 110 also maycomprise conductive lines, traces, vias, and pads that may be formedfrom, for example, one or more metals such as copper (Cu), aluminum (Al)or tungsten (W). The device structures 110 also may comprise one or morethrough wafer interconnects 116. The through wafer interconnects 116 maybe formed by depositing a conductive material, such as copper (Cu),aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), polycrystalline silicon, or gold (Au), in avia hole. For example, the through wafer interconnects 116 may extendfrom another device structure 110 and through at least a portion of thedielectric material 114. The through wafer interconnects 116 also mayextend partially through the substrate 106.

After forming the device region 102, a bonding material 118, shown inbroken lines, may optionally be formed over a major surface of theprocessed semiconductor structure 100. The bonding material 118 may beformed from a material that exhibits good adhesion with another materialin a direct bonding process. For example, the bonding material 118 maycomprise a dielectric material such as an oxide (e.g., silicon dioxide(SiO₂)), an oxynitride (e.g., silicon oxynitride (SiON)), or a nitride(e.g., silicon nitride (Si₃N₄)). The bonding material 118 may have athickness of, for example, between about one hundred nanometers (100 nm)and about two micrometers (2 μm). The bonding material 118 may bedeposited over an active surface 104 on the device region 102 using, forexample, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition(PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), or plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD). The bonding material 118 may be planarized, forexample, to reduce surface topography of the bonding material 118. Thebonding material 118 may be planarized utilizing, for example, one ormore of etching, grinding and chemical mechanical polishing.

As shown in FIG. 2, the processed semiconductor structure 100 shown inFIG. 1 may be inverted and bonded to another semiconductor structurethat, in the embodiments described with reference to FIG. 2, comprises acarrier wafer 200. A major surface of the dielectric material 114 or, ifpresent, the bonding material 118 is in intimate contact with a majorsurface of the carrier wafer 200.

The carrier wafer 200 may comprise a wafer having a low bow, warp andtotal thickness variation, as previously described herein for thesubstrate 106, in order to provide sufficient uniformity and flatnessfor the wafer bonding process. As a non-limiting example, the carrierwafer 200 may be a high quality silicon wafer having a warp of less thanabout thirty micrometers (30 μm), a bow of less than about tenmicrometers (10 μm) and a total thickness variation of less than aboutone micrometer (1 μm).

Before bringing the surfaces of the bonding material 118 of theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 and the carrier wafer 200 intocontact, a conventional surface cleaning process may optionally beperformed to remove surface debris and to form at least one hydrophilicsurface. By way of example and not limitation, the exposed surfaces ofthe dielectric material 114 or, if present, the bonding material 118 ofthe processed semiconductor structure 100 and the carrier wafer 200 maybe introduced to a solution that includes a mixture of water (H₂O),ammonium hydroxide (NH₄OH) and hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) at a ratio ofabout 5:1:1, respectively, to clean and impart hydrophilicity to theexposed surfaces of the dielectric material 114 or, if present, thebonding material 118 of the processed semiconductor structure 100 andthe carrier wafer 200.

A conventional cleaning sequence known in the art as an “RCA clean” mayalso, optionally, be performed on at least one of the surfaces of thedielectric material 114 or, if present, the bonding material 118 of theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 and the carrier wafer 200 toremove organic contaminants, ionic contaminants and metalliccontaminants that may interfere with bonding of the surfaces. Thesurfaces of the dielectric material 114 or, if present, the bondingmaterial 118 of the processed semiconductor structure 100 and thecarrier wafer 200 may be rinsed repeatedly in deionized (DI) water priorto bonding to prevent surface particles and to maintain hydrophilicity.The dielectric material 114 or, if present, the bonding material 118 ofthe processed semiconductor structure 100 may be bonded to the carrierwafer 200 to form a bonded semiconductor structure 300 using techniquessuch as thermal bonding, thermal compression bonding or thermalultrasonic bonding.

In some embodiments, the processed semiconductor structure 100 may bedirectly bonded to the carrier wafer 200 without using any intermediateadhesive material therebetween. The nature of the atomic or molecularbonds between the processed semiconductor structure 100 and the carrierwafer 200 will depend upon the material compositions of each of theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 and the carrier wafer 200. Thus,in accordance with some embodiments, direct atomic or molecular bondsmay be provided between, for example, at least one of silicon oxide andsilicon nitride, and at least one of silicon, silicon oxide, and siliconnitride.

Referring to FIG. 3, before bonding the processed semiconductorstructure 100 to the carrier wafer 200 as shown in FIG. 2, the carrierwafer 200 may be fabricated to include a semiconductor material 202having a transfer region 204 therein, the transfer region 204 defined byan implanted zone 206, which is represented by broken lines. Thetransfer region 204 may be formed by implanting ionic species into thesemiconductor material 202 of the carrier wafer 200 to form theimplanted zone 206. For example, the ionic species may be hydrogen ions,inert gas ions or fluorine ions. The ionic species may be implanted intothe carrier wafer 200 to form the implanted zone 206 along a region ofthe carrier wafer 200 having a peak concentration of the ions. Ionimplantation may form a weakened zone within the carrier wafer 200 alongwhich carrier wafer 200 may be susceptible to breaking or splitting whensubjected to elevated temperatures or upon application of a mechanicalforce, such as a shear force, to the carrier wafer 200. The ionimplantation parameters may be adjusted to prevent the carrier wafer 200from splitting or breaking along the implanted zone 206 during bondingof the processed semiconductor structure 100 to the carrier wafer 200(FIG. 2). This enables the carrier wafer 202 to be divided into twoseparate portions during later stages of processing, as will bedescribed.

As a non-limiting example, the ionic species may comprise one or more ofhydrogen ions, helium ions and boron ions. The one or more ionic speciesmay be implanted at a dose of between about 1×10¹⁶ ions/cm² and 2×10¹⁷ions/cm², or between 1×10¹⁶ ions/cm² and 1×10¹⁷ ions/cm². The one ormore ionic species may be implanted at an energy of between about tenkiloelectron volts (10 KeV) and one hundred and fifty kiloelectron volts(150 KeV). The depth at which the ions are implanted into the carrierwafer 200 to form the implanted zone 206 is at least partially afunction of the energy with which the ions are implanted into thecarrier wafer 200. Thus, the implanted zone 206 may be formed at adesired depth in the carrier wafer 200 by selectively controlling theenergy of the implanted ions. A depth D1 of the implanted zone 206within the carrier wafer 200 may correspond to a desired thicknessand/or volume of a layer of the semiconductor material 202 that may besubsequently transferred to the processed semiconductor structure 100,as described in further detail below. As a non-limiting example, theatomic species may be implanted into the carrier wafer 200 with anenergy selected to form the implanted zone 206 at a depth D1 of betweenabout ten nanometers (10 nm) and about one thousand nanometers (1000 nm)(i.e., about 100 Å to about 10000 Å).

Another bonding material 218 may, optionally, be formed over a majorsurface of the carrier wafer 200 nearest the implanted zone 206 and mayalso be formed over a major surface of the carrier wafer 200 prior toformation of the implanted zone 206. The bonding material 218 may beformed from a material that exhibits good molecular adhesion with thedielectric material 114 or, if present, the bonding material 118overlying the processed semiconductor structure 100 (FIGS. 1 and 2). Thebonding material 218 may be formed from one or more dielectricmaterials, such as silicon dioxide (SiO₂), silicon oxynitride(SiO_(x)N_(y)) and silicon nitride (Si₃N₄). The bonding material 218 mayhave a thickness of between about one hundred nanometers (100 nm) andabout two micrometers (2 μm). By way of example and not limitation, thecarrier wafer 200 may be formed from a silicon material and a bondingmaterial 218 comprising silicon dioxide (SiO₂) may be formed on thecarrier wafer 200 by performing a conventional thermal oxidationprocess. The bonding material 218 may also be deposited using, forexample, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), physical vapor deposition(PVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD), or plasma enhanced chemical vapordeposition (PECVD).

Referring back to FIG. 2, the carrier wafer 200 may be bonded to theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 by abutting an exposed surface ofthe carrier wafer 200 (i.e., an exposed surface of the semiconductormaterial 202 or, if present, the bonding material 218) against anexposed surface of the processed semiconductor structure 100 (i.e., thedielectric material 114 or, if present, the bonding material 118) toform the bonded semiconductor structure 300. The carrier wafer 200 maybe bonded to the processed semiconductor structure 100 at roomtemperature or at an elevated temperature (e.g., at least above onehundred degrees Celsius (100° C.)) and pressure for a sufficient amountof time to bond the bonding material 118 with the semiconductor material202 or, if present, the bonding material 218. By way of non-limitingexample, an annealing process may be performed by exposing the processedsemiconductor structure 100 and the carrier wafer 200 to a temperatureof between about one hundred degrees Celsius (100° C.) and about fourhundred degrees Celsius (400° C.) for between about 30 minutes and 120minutes to bond the carrier wafer 200 and the processed semiconductorstructure 100. In some embodiments, the processed semiconductorstructure 100 may be bonded to the carrier wafer 200 without using anadhesive material, which may reduce or eliminate temperature andpressure limitations on further processing acts that might otherwiseresult from use of such an adhesive.

Referring to FIG. 4, after bonding the carrier wafer 200 and theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 to form the bonded semiconductorstructure 300, a portion of the substrate 106 may be removed from amajor surface (e.g., the back surface 108) of the processedsemiconductor structure 100 to expose surfaces of the through waferinterconnects 116 through the substrate 106. For example, the portion ofthe substrate 106 may be removed using a grinding process, aconventional chemical mechanical polishing process, an anisotropicetching process, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, thesubstrate 106 may, optionally, include an etch stop material 120, suchas an oxide material, which is shown in broken lines. The etch stopmaterial 120 may be positioned vertically within the substrate 106 atvarious positions. For example, etch stop material 120 may be positionedwithin the substrate 106 or above, under or horizontal to a surface 117of the through wafer interconnects 116.

As a non-limiting example, a grinding and chemical mechanical polishingprocess may be performed to remove the portion of the substrate 106 withrespect to the through wafer interconnects 116 and the etch stop 120material, if present, by fixing the carrier wafer 200, for example, on avacuum chuck, and pressing the exposed surface of the substrate 106against a rotating polishing pad, while a chemically and/or physicallyactive (i.e., abrasive) slurry removes the material of the substrate106.

As another non-limiting example, a wet etching process may be performedto remove the portion of the substrate 106 with respect to the throughwafer interconnects 116 and the etch stop material 120, if present, byintroducing a solution including potassium hydroxide (KOH) ortetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) to the exposed surface of thesubstrate 106. The carrier wafer 200 is used to handle the processedsemiconductor structure 100, and provides mechanical support for theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 during thinning of the substrate106 to expose surfaces of the through wafer interconnects 116. Theremaining portion of the substrate 106 may have a thickness D2 of fromabout one-half of a micrometer (0.5 μm) to about one hundred micrometers(100 μm).

As shown in FIG. 5, the bonded semiconductor structure 300 may beinverted, aligned with, and brought into contact with another processedplanar semiconductor structure 400, as represented by directionalarrows. For example, exposed surfaces of the through wafer interconnects116 of the bonded semiconductor structure 300 may be contacted with andbonded to exposed conductive pads 420 on an active surface 404 of theprocessed semiconductor structure 400.

The processed semiconductor structure 400, like the processedsemiconductor structure 100, may include a device region 402 thatincludes device structures 410. The device region 402 may extend intosubstrate 406 and on and/or over a surface of a substrate 406. Thesubstrate 406 may comprise a substrate as previously described inrelation to the substrate 106 of FIG. 1. Similarly, the devicestructures 410 of the device region 402 may include device structures410 as previously described in relation to the device structures 110 ofFIG. 1. In some embodiments, the device region 402 of the processedsemiconductor structure 400 may have at least substantially the sameconfiguration as the device region 102 of the processed semiconductorstructure 100.

After forming the device region 402 of the processed semiconductorstructure 400, one or more conductive structures, such as conductivepads 420, may be formed over the device region 402. The conductive pads420 may include one or more conductive materials, such as one or moremetals (e.g., copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), tungsten (W), polycrystallinesilicon and/or gold (Au)). For example, the conductive pads 420 may beformed on the processed semiconductor structure 400 in aback-end-of-line (BEOL) process. In some embodiments, the conductivepads 420 may be formed by depositing a conductive material (not shown)over a dielectric material 414 and patterning the conductive materialusing photolithography techniques to form the conductive pads 420. Inother embodiments, the conductive pads 420 may be formed by depositingthe conductive material into a plurality of openings (not shown) in thedielectric material 414, and performing a chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) process to remove portions of the conductive material overlyingthe openings (commonly referred to as the “Damascene Process”). Thebonded semiconductor structure 300 and the processed semiconductorstructure 400 may be structurally and electrically coupled with oneanother by aligning and bonding the through wafer interconnects 116 ofthe processed semiconductor structure 100 with the conductive pads 420of the processed semiconductor structure 400.

Referring to FIG. 6, the processed semiconductor structure 100 may bebonded to the processed semiconductor structure 400 to form anotherbonded semiconductor structure 500 in which the through waferinterconnects 116 of the processed semiconductor structure 100 arestructurally and electrically coupled to the conductive pads 420 of theprocessed semiconductor structure 400. In some embodiments, the throughwafer interconnects 116 may be directly bonded to the conductive pads420 using a direct metal-to-metal bonding process, such as athermo-compression bonding process, non-thermo-compression bonding or aeutectic bonding process. For example, the through wafer interconnects116 and the conductive pads 420 may each be formed from copper, and alow temperature copper-to-copper bonding process may be performed byexposing the bonded semiconductor structure 300 (FIG. 2) and theprocessed semiconductor structure 400 to a temperature of between aboutone hundred degrees Celsius (100° C.) and about four hundred degreesCelsius (400° C.) for a sufficient amount of time for the through waferinterconnects 116 and the conductive pads 420 to bond to one another.

In other embodiments, the back surface 108 and the active surface 404(FIG. 5) of the respective processed semiconductor structures 100 and400 may be bonded to one another using a direct wafer bonding process,wherein the back surface 108 and active surface 404 may compriseconductive (e.g., metallic) regions and non-conductive (e.g.,dielectric) regions and the direct wafer bonding process bondsmetal-to-metal and dielectric-to-dielectric concurrently.

An optional bonding material may be formed over one or more of backsurface 108 and active surface 404. As illustrated by a non-limitingexample of FIG. 6, an optional dielectric bonding material, e.g.,comprising a silicon dioxide (SiO₂) material 122, which is shown inbroken lines, may optionally be formed over the substrate 106 using anoxide deposition process, such as, for example, a low temperature plasmadeposition process. The optional silicon dioxide material 122 mayfurther be planarized to expose conductive pads 420; such aplanarization may be performed, for example, by a chemical mechanicalpolishing process.

The silicon dioxide material 122 may be bonded to the dielectricmaterial 414 of the processed semiconductor structure 400 using anoxide-to-oxide bonding process such as that described with reference toFIG. 4. For example, the silicon dioxide material 122 may be bonded tothe dielectric material 414 at room temperature or at an elevatedtemperature (e.g., at least above one hundred degrees Celsius (100°C.)). Metal-to-metal bonding processes and oxide-to-oxide bondingprocesses may be performed at low temperatures (i.e., temperatures ofless than about four hundred degrees Celsius (400° C.) and, thus, avoiddamage to the device regions 102 and 402 of the processed semiconductorstructures 100 and 400. Vertically stacking the processed semiconductorstructures 100 and 400 after performing the back-end-of-line (BEOL)processes according to methods of the present disclosure enablesformation of conductive interconnections (e.g., coupling of throughwafer interconnects 116 and conductive pads 420) between the processedsemiconductor structures 100 and 400 during the bonding process.

During or upon completion of bonding of the processed semiconductorstructures 100 and 400, a portion of the material 202′ of the carrierwafer 200 (FIG. 5) may be separated (i.e., detached) from the bondedsemiconductor structure 500 leaving a transferred layer of material 202″remaining on the processed semiconductor structure 100. Separation ofthe portion of material 202′ of carrier wafer 200 may be performed byvarious chemical, thermal or mechanical processes, such as by a grindingprocess, an etching process, a polishing process or a lift-off process.For example, a single annealing process may be performed to bond theprocessed semiconductor structures 100 and 400 to one another whileseparating (i.e., detaching) the portion of the material 202′ of thecarrier wafer 200 to form the transferred layer of material 202″. Theannealing process may be performed by contacting a major surface of theprocessed semiconductor structure 100 (i.e., an exposed major surface ofthe substrate 106 and the exposed surfaces of the via plugs 110) with amajor surface of the processed semiconductor structure 400 (i.e., anexposed major surface of the dielectric material 414 of the substrate406 and exposed surfaces of the conductive pads 420) and annealing at atemperature of between about two hundred degrees Celsius (200° C.) andabout four hundred degrees Celsius (400° C.). The annealing process maysimultaneously bond the processed semiconductor structures 100 and 400(i.e., bond the through wafer interconnects 116 to the conductive pads420) and split the portion of the material 202′ of the carrier wafer 200from the transferred material 202″.

By way of example and not limitation, the process known in the industryas the SMARTCUT® process may be used to separate or detach the portionof the material 202′ from the transferred layer of material 202″. Suchprocesses are described in detail in, for example, U.S. Pat. No.RE39,484 to Bruel; U.S. Pat. No. 5,374,564 to Bruel; U.S. Pat. No.6,303,468 to Aspar et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,335,258 to Aspar et al.; U.S.Pat. No. 6,756,286 to Moriceau et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 6,809,044 to Asparet al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,946,365 to Aspar et al., the disclosures ofeach of which are incorporated herein in their entirety by thisreference.

The thickness D2 of the transferred layer of material 202″ may besubstantially equal to the depth D1 of the implanted zone 206 within thecarrier wafer 200 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. In some embodiments, thetransferred layer of material 202″ may be used as a base or substratefor forming additional device structures, wherein additional devicestructure may be in electrical communication with device structures ofprocessed semiconductor structure 100 and processed semiconductorstructure 400. After detaching the transferred layer of material 202″from the carrier wafer 200, an exposed surface of the transferred layerof material 202″ may be undesirably rough. For example, the surface ofthe transferred layer of material 202″ may have an average roughness ofbetween about one nanometer (1 nm) and about 20 nanometers (20 nm). Thesurface of the transferred layer of material 202″ may be smoothed to adesired degree in order to facilitate further processing as describedbelow, according to techniques known in the art such as, for example,one or more of a grinding process, a wet etching process and chemicalmechanical polishing (CMP) process. Thus, the thickness D2 of thetransferred layer of material 202″ may be sufficient to enable a portionof the transferred layer of material 202″ to be removed to substantiallysmooth a surface thereof. For example, the thickness D2 of thetransferred layer of material 202″ may be between about ten nanometers(10 nm) and about one thousand nanometers (1000 nm).

In other embodiments, one or more further processed semiconductorstructures may be attached, e.g., via a bonding process, to bondedsemiconductor structure 500, wherein the one or more further processedsemiconductor structures may be formed utilizing the methods describedabove and may be in electrical communication with additional devicestructures formed in and/or over the transferred layer of material 202″and also in electrical communication with device structures 110 and 410,respectively, of processed semiconductor structure 100 and processedsemiconductor structure 400.

In other embodiments, the transferred layer of material 202″ may beremoved from the bonded semiconductor structure 500 after processingusing an anisotropic etching process, a chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) process or a combination thereof. In such an embodiment, surfaceroughness of the transferred layer of material 202″ may not be aconcern, and the transferred layer of material 202″ may be formed as avery thin layer. For example, the thickness D2 of the transferred layerof material 202″ may be between about ten nanometers (10 nm) and aboutsix hundred nanometers (600 nm).

The remaining the portion of the material 202′ of the carrier wafer 200that is detached may be recycled and reused in additional processing.

The disclosed methods may be employed using known equipment and, thus,may be employed in high volume manufacturing (HVM) of semiconductorstructures. Thus, the disclosed methods may enable the fabrication ofelectronic devices on increasingly thin semiconductor structures andenable interconnection of device structures during fabrication ofthree-dimensionally integrated semiconductor devices.

Embodiments of the present invention may be used in thethree-dimensional integration of any type or types of semiconductorstructures including die-to-die (D2D) integration, die-to-wafer (D2W),wafer-to-wafer (W2W) integration, or a combination of such integrationprocesses.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a semiconductor wafer 600 that includesa plurality of individual semiconductor dice 602 may be singulated toform separate individual dice 602. The semiconductor wafer 600 may bediced using techniques such as sawing, scribing and breaking, or laserablation. Known good dice may be identified from the plurality ofsemiconductor dice 602.

The known good dice identified from the plurality of semiconductor dice602 may be separately and individually attached to carrier dice andprocessed (e.g., thinned) while using the carrier dice to handle theknown good dice in accordance with the methods previously describedherein.

Referring to FIG. 8, the known good dice then may be structurally andelectrically coupled to another wafer 800 in accordance with the methodspreviously described herein. The wafer 800 may include a plurality ofdice at least partially fabricated thereon. For example, through waferinterconnects 610 of the known good semiconductor dice 602 may bealigned and bonded with conductive pads 820 of the dice on the wafer800. An annealing process may be performed as previously described withrespect to FIG. 6 to detach a portion 602′ of a carrier die along aweakened zone 604 within the carrier die, while at the same time forminga metal-to-metal bond between the through wafer interconnects 610 of theknown good die 602 and the conductive pads 820 of an at least partiallyformed die on the wafer 800. In some embodiments, a remaining portion602″ of the carrier die may be removed using an etching process or achemical mechanical polishing (CMP) process. In other embodiments, theremaining portion 602″ of the carrier die may be used as a base layerfor fabricating additional device structures. In some embodiments, aplurality of the known good dice 602 with the dice attached thereto maybe structurally and electrically coupled to the wafer 800 to at leastsubstantially reconstruct a wafer like the wafer 600 shown in FIG. 7over the wafer 800, and the portions 602′ of the carrier dice may bedetached at least substantially simultaneously in a single process.Reconstruction of the wafer, like semiconductor wafer 600, may includepopulating the wafer with the known good dice, followed by thedeposition of an oxide material and planarization to form a continuoussurface with the known good dice embedded within the oxide material.

While embodiments of the present invention have been described hereinusing certain examples, those of ordinary skill in the art willrecognize and appreciate that the invention is not limited to theparticulars of the example embodiments. Rather, many additions,deletions and modifications to the example embodiments may be madewithout departing from the scope of the invention as hereinafterclaimed. For example, features from one embodiment may be combined withfeatures of other embodiments while still being encompassed within thescope of the invention as contemplated by the inventors.

What is claimed is:
 1. A semiconductor structure, comprising: at leastone bonded semiconductor structure including two or more processedsemiconductor structures that are attached together; and a temporarycarrier die or wafer bonded to one processed semiconductor structure ofthe at least one bonded semiconductor structure, the temporary carrierdie or wafer having a weakened zone comprising a plurality of implantedions therein at an average depth from a surface of the temporary carrierdie or wafer bonded to the one processed semiconductor structure of theat least one bonded semiconductor structure.
 2. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1, wherein the two or more processed semiconductorstructures are structurally and electrically coupled together at leastpartially by through wafer interconnects.
 3. The semiconductor structureof claim 1, wherein the two or more processed semiconductor structuresare directly bonded together without using an adhesive materialtherebetween.
 4. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein thetemporary carrier die or wafer is directly bonded to the at least onebonded semiconductor structure.
 5. The semiconductor structure of claim1, wherein at least one of the two or more processed semiconductorstructures comprises a substrate and a device region on the substrate,the device region including a plurality of device structures.
 6. Thesemiconductor structure of claim 5, wherein the substrate has a warp ofless than about thirty micrometers (30 μm), a bow of less than about tenmicrometers (10 μm), and a total thickness variation of less than aboutone micrometer (1 μm).
 7. The semiconductor structure of claim 5,wherein the plurality of device structures includes a plurality ofthrough wafer interconnects extending through the device region and atleast partially through the substrate.
 8. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 7, wherein at least one of the through wafer interconnects isexposed at a back surface of the substrate.
 9. The semiconductorstructure of claim 1, further comprising a bonding material between thetemporary carrier die or wafer and the at least one bonded semiconductorstructure.
 10. The semiconductor structure of claim 9, wherein thebonding material comprises at least one of an oxide, a nitride, and anoxynitride.
 11. The semiconductor structure of claim 1, wherein the twoor more processed semiconductor structures include a stack of processedsemiconductor structures, each processed semiconductor structurecomprising a die or wafer including at least a portion of an integratedcircuit.
 12. The semiconductor structure of claim 11, wherein theprocessed semiconductor structures of the stack are bonded togetherusing metal-to-metal bonds between active conductive features of theprocessed semiconductor structures.
 13. The semiconductor structure ofclaim 1, wherein the temporary carrier die or wafer is a temporarycarrier wafer.
 14. The semiconductor structure of claim 13, wherein thestack of processed semiconductor structures comprises at least onesemiconductor wafer.
 15. A method of fabricating a semiconductorstructure, comprising: forming a first semiconductor structure includingat least a portion of an integrated circuit on a first substrate;implanting ions into a carrier wafer to form a weakened region withinthe carrier wafer; directly bonding the carrier wafer to a first side ofthe first semiconductor structure; processing the first semiconductorstructure while the carrier wafer is attached to the first semiconductorstructure using the carrier wafer to handle the first semiconductorstructure; directly bonding a second semiconductor structure to a secondside of the first semiconductor structure opposite the first side of thesemiconductor structure to which the carrier wafer is directly bonded;and separating a layer of material from the carrier wafer from aremaining portion of the carrier wafer along the weakened regiontherein.
 16. The method of claim 15, wherein processing the firstsemiconductor structure comprises removing a portion of the firstsubstrate from the second side of the first semiconductor structure andexposing at least one conductive structure of the at least a portion ofthe integrated circuit of the first semiconductor structure.
 17. Themethod of claim 16, wherein directly bonding the second semiconductorstructure to the second side of the first semiconductor structurecomprises directly bonding the at least one conductive structure of theat least a portion of the integrated circuit of the first semiconductorstructure to at least one conductive element of the second semiconductorstructure.
 18. The method of claim 15, wherein directly bonding thesecond semiconductor structure to the second side of the firstsemiconductor structure comprises directly bonding at least one of asemiconductor material and an oxide material of the second semiconductorstructure to at least one of a semiconductor material and an oxidematerial of the first semiconductor structure.
 19. The method of claim15, wherein the direct bonding of the second semiconductor structure tothe second side of the first semiconductor structure results in theseparating of the layer of material from the carrier wafer along theweakened region therein.
 20. The method of claim 15, wherein the directbonding of the carrier wafer to the first side of the firstsemiconductor structure comprises weakening the carrier wafer along theweakened region therein without dividing the carrier wafer along theweakened region therein.